the_mead_hallfandomcom-20200214-history
Kalrum Greatforge
The older brother of Zulatobari Greatforge, Thane of Clan Greatforge. Kalrum is an experienced warlock, having been a mage for decades prior to practicing demonic magic and has been wielding the Fel since Dalaran fell in the Third War. A former Professor of Ancient History and current Runemaster of the Runekeeper Order! Characteristics An older dwarf, Kalrum's about average in height and a bit below average in weight. However, the unmistakable aura of fel surrounds the dwarf, permeates his aura entirely and to those who can sense it, or are too close, will know him for a warlock... If the gaudy robes and visibly fel-tinged staff didn't do that first. Physical Appearance Most of the information is noted to the side, but Kalrum is an old dwarf, while only two hundred and sixty (effectively in his late fifties/early sixties if he was a human), he appears quite a bit older, a byproduct of wielding Fel magic... However, despite that, his beard is still largely crimson with streaks of gray and a balding head. His eyes are wizen and filled with experience, wisdom, cunning, and intelligence. Factors similarly shown in his posture and mannerisms, he's a gentleman of a dwarf, despite being a warlock. Personal Items Kalrum's robes are red by nature, however they were custom tailored and worked on to include gray sheets of tanned demon skin for protection, with truegold threads going all across the robes to allow for magic to move between the enchantments stitched onto the robes with ease. Overall, all craftsdwarfship is of the highest quality! His boots, gauntlets, and shoulderpads are similarly fashioned with plates of truegold for magical conductivity. The enchantments of all of it include magical wards, physical wards, and personal barriers for his own power, to allow him better control of the chaotic energy of fel magic! His hat however, is an old favorite of Kalrum's, it's an iconic symbol of the character. It's crimson red, of soft velvet with a band of gray tanned demonhide along the top and enchanted to contain a small pocket dimension in the void for storage purposes! Along with that, there are your usual enchantments to make the item itself far more difficult to destroy, to keep the item on Kalrum's head unless he takes it off, and to mask his alignment from prying eyes. Desolation, Spire of Annihilation was once the staff of an Archmage of the Kirin Tor, Kalrum came across his corpse on a battlefield near the end of the Third War, crushed by an infernal, after defeating said infernal, Kalrum claimed the staff and corrupted it to his own use. Veins of pulsing felfire dance along the truesilver staff's length, culminating near the top where a once mighty crystal sat, the powers coursing through the staff having shattered the red crystal into pieces that float near the top of the staff. However, Kalrum replaced the center most crystal with an 'Orb of Inner Chaos' it's purpose shifted as a foci for his demon binding purposes! Hat Storage The items of note inside of Kalrum's hat includes an enchanted dagger, only to pierce magical wards and strong metal and natural armor. Spellbooks and Fel-Infused Tomes, a Phoenix Heart, other spell components, gold, and other supplies. Personality Kalrum is an exceedingly intelligent and wise dwarf, possessed of an iron will and a stubborn mind he's seen the worse the universe has to offer in his explorations into the Nether and even glimpses into the Void, and has returned with not only his sanity intact, but more focused then ever on defending Azeroth and expanding the knowledge of his fellow spellcasters, regardless of their chosen magic, as to prepare them for the horrors that await them all in the future! He's willing to do anything for the greater good, if that means doing something less then legal, then so be it, if that means deceiving friends, family, and entire organizations, then so be it. And he has the cunning and charisma to get away with nearly all of it as well, afterall, the only fate awaiting weak willed, low ambition, and shy individuals in the path of a warlock is only death or eternal servitude to demons. History Born shortly after the War of the Three Hammers to Orik Greatforge, a grizzled Wildhammer warrior who picked his wife and new family over his brothers, forswearing his former name of Orik Oathmir and taking up his wives name of Greatforge. However, Merlia Greatforge, Orik's first wife, was slain in battle for Ironforge when the Dark Iron's returned after theirs and the Wildhammer's exile. The Greatforge Clan recognized that by order of ascension, Orik should become Thane as Merlia's father, the previous Thane, was slain alongside Merlia, his only daughter, however, the elders ruled that the bloodline of Zulbar must continue and thus Orik married his second and final wife, Fjoren Rockmantle. A closely related family to the Greatforges with bloodties to Zulbar the Mighty! Kalrum is specifically the first son of Orik and Fjoren, but the third son of Orik in total, Thrandrin and Orikson being the first two. After Kalrum was his younger brother Zulatobari, followed by his younger sister Fjrorum. Early Years Not showing the... aptitude for martial combat like his brothers, nor a connection with the Light like his sister, Kalrum spent most of his youth and young adult life reading and learning, studying history and working as a scribe in the Ironforge Library. However, nearly ninety or so years ago, on a trip through the lands of the Dark Iron towards Stormwind to attend a lecture on Arathi history, he was captured by Dueria Gemhammer, a Dark Iron Shadow Priestess with an interest in scholarly pursuits. Unlike other scholars who bored her and were repaid with slavery like most captured by the Dark Iron's... Kalrum however, he fascinated her, and after years of debates and knowledge sharing, the two actually fell in love and married in secret. By now, Kalrum had discovered he had a minor ability for Arcane magic, but no matter how much he studied, or the patient tutelage of Duerla Gemhammer, Dueria's mother, he grew very little in regards to power. Eventually Corgra, Duerla's twin sister would 'die', sending Duerla into a downward spiraling path, leading to her death in the future as Corgra's daughter-in-law, Mari, tried her best to kill Kalrum and her Gemhammer cousins due to the embarrassment Dueria and Kalrum caused her. However, Mari would eventually be defeated and their lives would move on... The First War When the Shadow Council obtained a home in Blackrock Mountain, many Dark Iron scholars and power seekers were curious about the power they wielded, Dueria was one of them, but she knew not the dangers of trying to combine Shadow and Fel into a single type of energy, a danger she paid for in full when the volatile explosion brought on her death. When Kalrum learned, he was greatly depressed, and attended the scattering of her ashes in disguise, but the horrors of the Second War were already pressing onto Khaz Modan, and he only barely made it back into his city of birth before the gates closed. The Second War Locked in the city along with his kin, he kept himself locked away, studying Corgra and Duerla's tomes and what scraps of knowledge he obtained about the Orcs and their darker magic from Dueria's study until the gates finally reopened. By now, his younger brother Zulatobari had become Thane after Orik had died fighting the orc's, the magical axe known as Bitter'Ice having chosen Zula over his brothers and sister. Still fuming from the lock-in and his fathers death, Kalrum was temporarily granted stewardship of the Greatforge Clan as Zulatobari went orc hunting with Orikson, Thrandrin, and Fjrorum who accompanied them only to ensure they came back in one piece. When they returned, Kalrum left for Dalaran to quench his thirst for knowledge. The Third War and it's Aftermath He made a new home for himself in the magical city of Dalaran, the peace he obtained nearly easing the guilt and pain in his heart, but not entirely, and it held him back in his studies. Kalrum was never gifted when it came to magic, his skills were focused in enchanting with a tinge of pryomancy, but his level of power was that of a lesser magi, despite having practiced the magic just as long, if not longer, then many Archmages, with the knowledge of two Archmages at his fingertips in the form of Duerla and Corgra's tomes. When the Third War started, Kalrum had since become a Professor of Ancient History in the city, one of it's Librarians and Chief Scribes, and a part-time Enchanter, but his path would be forever changed when the city fell during to the Scourge, when Archimonde was summoned and with a single spell, wiped out the ancient city of magic. Witnessing the destruction of his new life from a distance, Kalrum left his fellow refugees and sought out the very demons that destroyed his home, finding them causing chaos and leading a variety of fledgling cults dedicated to the Legion. Kalrum would spend the rest of the Third War, up until Archimonde's defeat in Kalimdor, learning what he could from the various cults, jumping to new ones when things got dangerous or if the information ran dry... But by the time the war ended, Kalrum left the cult business to conclude his studies on Fel and Demonic Summoning alone, by summoning demons and forcing them to reveal their secrets, taking their power or binding them as servants. When the Alliance was accepting warlocks, Kalrum returned home, his family was at first overjoyed of his return, they had thought him dead, but were soon horrified at the changes to their older brother (Orikson and Thrandrin had long since left, the former chasing battles across Azeroth, the latter rejoining his father's kin, the Oathmir's, in the Twilight Highlands). Kalrum would regain their trust in time, just as he grew in power and knowledge over the decades since the Fall of Dalaran, finally possessing the power to become a hero like his brothers, regardless of the cost... And soon he'd have a plethora of demonic servants, a sanctum in the Twisting Nether itself, a safe haven hidden in the ruins of a destroyed planet and behind layers upon layers of Kalrum's most potent wards. The purpose, to become his home away from home, a safe place for his riches and relics, and a secure location for his demonic servants to reform themselves upon their defeat in the mortal realm or when dismissed by Kalrum, along with a jail for demons Kalrum banished, as to allow the now Grand Warlock to interrogate them, destroy them, or bind them at his leisure! Clan Battlehammer & The Runekeeper Order During the time of Deathwing's return, up till the defeat of the Iron Horde in AU Draenor, Kalrum served with an militant clan of dwarves known as Clan Battlehammer, led by the self-styled King, Bruenor Battlehammer who led his dwarves onto a glorious campaign against the Horde. But all things come to an end, and Kalrum eventually parted ways with the warband. And during the Legion's return following Archimonde's defeat at the Black Gate, Kalrum would discover an ancient Titan tome upon the Legion world of Nerothalis. After retrieving the tome and learning it's secrets, a process which lasted from his recovery of it, up until Gul'dan's defeat in the Nighthold. However, after learning it's knowledge, Kalrum would dedicate himself to rebuilding the ancient order, but reforming it as a bastion for all spellcasters, regardless of background or type of magic.